Humour and Religion

Hans Geybels is Associate Professor at the Department of Pastoral Theology in the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Walter Van Herck is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

There are... some excellent contributions such as Koenraad Elst's "Humour in Hinduism" which is rich in empirical detail and includes a discussion of the mockery of and satires on Hinduism and of Sikhs and Brahmins.

• Preface \ Part I: Religious Laughter \ 1. The Redemptive Power of Humor in Religion. An Introductory Overview, Hans Geybels (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) \ 2. Humor as Practical Wisdom, Johan Taels (University of Antwerp, Belgium)\ 3. Humor in Hinduism, Koenraad Elst (Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium) \ 4. Laughing Priests in the Atsuta Shrine Festival, Elaine Gerbert (University of Kansas, USA) \ 5. Humor on Religion in the Greco-Roman World, Paul Schulten (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) \ 6. Transferring Aristophanes' Religious Registers in Modern Greek and English Versions, Vicky Manteli (University of Peloponnese, Greece) \ 7. Jewish Humor, Ludo Abicht (University of Antwerp, Belguim) \ 8. Why Did Ancient Gods Laugh? Humor in the History of Religions, Ingvild Saelid Gilhus (University of Bergen, Norway) \ 9. Homo Byzantinus Ridens: Humor in Byzantinium, Przemyslaw Marciniak (University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland) \ 10. Being Serious about Laughter: The Case of Medieval Biblical Plays, Jolanta Rzegocka (Tischner European University, Poland) \ 11. The Muslim Sense of Humor, Ulrich Marzolph (Georg-Augustu University, Gottingen, Germany) \ Part II: Laughing at Religion \ 12. Humor, Religion and Society. An Introduction, Walter Van Herck (University of Antwerp, Belgium) \ 13. To Laugh at God? Iconic History of the Limits Not to Be Passed, François Boespflug (University of Strasbourg, France) \ 14. The Fool and the Path to Spiritual Insight, Jessica Milner Davis (University of Sydney, Australia) \ 15. Humor, Religion, and Politics in Greek Cartoons: Symbiosis or Conflict? Villy Tsakona (University of Iannina and the University of Patras, Greece) \ Conclusion \ Bibliography \ Index